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19 Jul 17. Russian Helicopters unveils Mi-171Sh-VN gunship. The Russian Helicopters holding, a subsidiary of the Rostec state corporation, has unveiled a new variant of the Mi-171Sh (Hip-H) utility helicopter reconfigured for special operations. Designated Mi-171Sh-VN, the helicopter was unveiled at the MAKS 2017 airshow at Zhukovsky, outside Moscow. The Mi-171Sh-VN is designed to be more combat effective and survivable than the basic model. “The helicopter has been developed based on combat experience, including in Syria,” Russian Helicopters CEO Andrey Boginsky told Jane’s. It will be marketed worldwide as the Mi-171Sh. According to its official specifications, the Mi-171Sh-VN has a maximum take-off weight of 13,500 kg, a maximum payload of 4,000kg, a ferry range of 1,065km, a service ceiling of 6,000m, a maximum speed of 280km/h, and a cruising speed of 260km/h. The aircraft has a crew of three and can transport up to 37 people. The Mi-171Sh-VN is powered by two engines with a power output of 1,900hp each. It has composite main rotor blades and an X-type tail rotor. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
20 Jul 17. Rheinmetall Air Defence preps GDF-009 AAG for production. Rheinmetall Air Defence has released details of its latest Oerlikon GDF-009 twin 35mm towed anti-aircraft gun (AAG). The GDF-009 model is based on a four-wheeled carriage, and is raised off the ground by three stabilisers when deployed in the firing position. It also features an automatic levelling system that can compensate for a maximum tilt angle of up to 7°. Mounted on the forward part of the carriage is the integrated battery, which functions as the gun’s power supply unit and can be recharged from an external source if required. Earlier GDF models relied on an external power source, or a diesel or petrol-powered power supply unit. Target information is fed to the weapon by an associated fire-control unit (FCU) such as the Oerlikon Skyguard, with a Skyguard FCU typically managing two GDF-009 AAGs. The Oerlikon Skyguard 3 is the latest build currently offered by the company; however, earlier Skyguard 1 and 2 FCUs can also be updated to this standard. The GDF-series AAGs are armed with two 35mm Oerlikon KDC dual-feed cannons, which have a cyclic rate of fire of up to 550rds/min per cannon. The cannons normally fire in bursts, and have an effective range of 4,000m in the air defence role. The guns fire 35 x 228mm ammunition with a total of 280 rounds on the weapon, of which 112 rounds – 56 rounds for each cannon – are ready-use. The 35mm ammunition is manufactured by Rheinmetall Weapons and Munitions (RWM) Schweiz, based in Zurich. The standard natures of 35 x 228mm ammunition are the PMD402 high-explosive incendiary (HEI), PMD-040 high-explosive incendiary-tracer (HEI-T), and their associated training natures, which have a typical muzzle velocity of 1,175 m/s. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
18 Jul 17. US Army Boosting Laser Weapons Power Tenfold. The US Army is dialing up its lasers, from 5 to 10 kilowatt weapons that torched quadcopters in successful tests to 50 to 100 kW weapons that could kill helicopters and low-flying airplanes — and, possibly, blind cruise missiles as well. Given rising anxiety over Russia’s Hind gunships, Frogfoot fighters, and Kalibr missiles, the technology is timely. A truck-fired 50 kW weapon — an upgrade of the lumbering HEL-MTT — will be test fired next-year. A 100kW weapon on a more mobile vehicle — perhaps an 8×8 Stryker or tracked Bradley — will test-fire in 2022. The Army expects to issue the contract for that demonstrator before the current fiscal year ends October 1.
The 50kW weapon, will “obviously have a little more range, a little more power, a little better beam control,” Lt. Gen. James Dickinson, chief of Army Space & Missile Defense Command (SMDC), said to an Association of